PETA Stages ‘Snarl-In’ In Leicester City Centre
Canine Chorus in Iams UK’s hometown is part of an International Campaign Against Iams’ Animal Tests
For Immediate Release:
26 August 2004
Contact:
Yvonne Taylor 020 7357 9229, ext 405
Sean Gifford 020 7357 9229, ext 226
Leicester – Joined by barking dogs and activists holding aloft signs that read, “Iams: Stop Torturing Animals”, members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA UK) will hold a “snarl-in” in Leicester to persuade shoppers to leave Iams pet food on store shelves until the company stops conducting painful tests on animals living in bleak conditions in laboratories. The protest, in Iams UK’s hometown, is the last stop of a PETA UK Snarl-in tour which has also visited Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Barking and Bristol:
Date: Friday, 27 August
Time: 12 noon – 1pm
Place: The Clock Tower (city centre)
A PETA US undercover investigation revealed deplorable conditions at an Iams contract laboratory in the US. At least 27 dogs were deliberately killed, while others died of illnesses that went untreated, despite assurances from Iams (who are owned by Procter & Gamble) that no animal in any Iams test would ever be deliberately killed. PETA US’s investigator also found the following:
• Dogs and cats confined to small, barren cages, some for up to six years
• Dogs’ vocal cords were surgically cut out so that they couldn’t bark
• Dogs with untreated ear infections, rotten teeth and injured paws from having to balance on metal-slatted cages and lie on cold cement
• Workers’ reports of a live kitten who was washed down a drain
• Terrified, unsocialised animals cowering in cages
• Extreme heat and humidity in kennels during summer months and near-freezing temperatures in winter
• Dogs being force-fed vegetable oil through tubes inserted down their throats
A whistleblower at a laboratory in Austria reported that dogs used by a vivisector whose salary is reportedly funded by Iams are regularly kicked and beaten and that many become psychotic from being confined to small, barren, concrete cells for up to seven years.
“We’re howling mad that Iams is hurting and killing dogs and cats while feeding their customers a load of fiction about caring”, says PETA UK Iams Campaign Coordinator Yvonne Taylor. “Dogs and cats shouldn’t be forced to suffer for Iams’ profits. New dog and cat foods should be tested in people’s loving homes, not on caged, lonely animals in secret laboratories.”
Broadcast-quality footage of animals in an Iams contract laboratory is available. For more information, please visit IamsCruelty.com.
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